Go shopping, save the planet

Buying stuff now provides a triple benefit: you own something new, you help the economy recover and you save the planet. Not bad for an afternoon at the mall. AIR MILES® has announced the formation of a new division, AIR MILES for Social Change, designed “to help organizations more effectively inspire socially responsible lifestyle choices among Canadians by harnessing the power of reward miles.”

AIR MILES for Social Change is partnering with government agencies, energy utilities, transit service providers, and non-governmental organizations. According to the news release, these partnerships “leverage the value of AIR MILES reward miles and the program’s reach into more than 10 million Canadian households to create incentives for energy conservation, public transit, waste reduction and other sustainable choices to shift the attitudes and behaviours of Canadians in favour of healthy living and the environment.”

Details about the new program are scant, but “an innovative energy conservation relationship with the Ontario Power Authority is set to be announced in April, 2010. This joint program will help engage Ontarians to take simple conservation actions that will have lasting financial rewards and help fight climate change.”